McCaskill says Senate gun control debate will be focused on the 'doable'

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was not among those lamenting the early death of a proposed ban on assault weapons. McCaskill had expressed support for such a bill in the wake of last year's Connecticut shooting, in which a gunman killed 20 elementary school children.

But the gun control issue has split her party, with several Democrats opposing the assault weapons ban. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week that he would not include that in the gun control package that the Senate takes up next month.

"I think we're going to focus on the doable and I'm pleased that we're doing that," McCaskill said of Reid's decision to keep the weapons ban out of the package, which is expected to include universal background checks and other incremental steps.

McCaskill said that any bill in the Senate has to win Republican votes if it's going to have a chance of passing the House. "I don't think (Sen. Reid's) trying to kill anything," McCaskill said. "I think he's trying to pass something."

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McCaskill says Senate gun control debate will be focused on the 'doable'

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was not among those lamenting the early death of a proposed ban on assault weapons.